Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin appeared before a legislative task force at the state capitol Monday to recommend changes to a law that prevents law enforcement officers from being charged with a crime in uses of deadly force unless it can be proven that they acted with “malice” and without “good faith.”

According to The Seattle Times, the Justin Ellis Authentic Jersey task force voted to remove the references of “malice” and “good faith” from the law.

“The major part of it is that it sends a message to the community that law enforcement and the agencies that represent law enforcement, that they’re serious about the gravity of their decisions and about the standards that they hold themselves to,” Baldwin said.

“And it sends a deep message to the community of just that. And an olive branch, if you will, that they’re willing to work with the community. It heals a much-needed relationship. As far as being able to prosecute police officers, obviously that’s not the intent.

Wasted opportunities are why the Redskins could roll up 505 yards of offense but still leave on the wrong end of a 31-26 score. You shouldn’t feel bad about what they can do in future games, but to do more than sneak in as the last playoff entrant, they have to do a much better job of converting the opportunities they get.

Jordan Reed caught two touchdown passes as part of a good day for the Redskins’ passing game.

Missed chances hurt the Redskins in a loss to Dallas earlier this year, hurt them in a loss to Detroit and cost them a tie with Cincinnati. The Redskins are still 6-4-1 and still in good position to make the playoffs. Their offense will always give them a chance to hurt most teams. They’re explosive, and quarterback Kirk Cousins is playing well — he threw for 449 yards and three Karl Joseph Authentic Jersey touchdowns Thursday. You can’t say it’s all because of the talent around him. It isn’t. There’s a lot to be encouraged by when it comes to Cousins and the offense.

“Twenty[-six] points should be good enough to win in the NFL,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said.

But that makes what happened Thursday disappointing. The Redskins were in position to win this game. But on two early trips inside the red zone, for example, they settled for field goals. They used a new formation on one play — the Wildcat — and lost a yard.

It’s all about strength of schedule. Heading into this week, the Ravens had faced what Football Outsiders deemed to be the league’s easiest schedule. Starting with Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, they were set to face the league’s toughest slate the rest of the way. The opposite was true for the Steelers, who were fittingly facing the Browns at the same time.

They’ll benefit from playing a Bengals team Jacob Tamme Womens Jersey almost surely to be without Green next week, and the jury is still out on Miami, but the Ravens still have to face the Patriots in New England and the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Joe Flacco & Co. also have to host the Eagles, who are considered to be wildly underrated by just about every advanced metric I can find.

It seems cruel to highlight a player’s poor performance when he left the game with an injury, but there’s no denying that Kessler struggled in limited action against the Steelers. Kessler dropped back to pass 19 times and gained five first downs on those plays. He was sacked four times and was off target (overthrown or underthrown) on a season-high 31 percent of his attempts, including his interception in the first quarter.

Kessler especially struggled on third down Sunday; he gained a first down on two of his six dropbacks. He posted a 2.9 Total QBR on third down against the Steelers, which brought his season-long third-down QBR to an NFL-low 17.7.

Dalton had a day to forget for the Cincinnati Bengals against Buffalo as he completed 24-of-43 Jake Matthews Womens Jersey passes for 207 yards and lost two of his top weapons, A.J. Green and Giovani Bernard, to injuries.

Dalton struggled to find his touch downfield against a Bills’ defense that had been among the worst at stopping deep passes in recent weeks. Buffalo held Dalton to 5-of-13 passing for 75 yards and two interceptions on passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, including 1-of-6 for 11 yards in the second half.

The names up front have changed over the years, from Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams (2000-01) to Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg (2006-10) to Williams and Pierce. The staggering low rushing totals, however, have remained the same.

“That’s who we are,” Williams said. “That’s our standard is Brandon Sutter Authentic Jersey stopping the run. You don’t become a Raven if you don’t know how to stop the run.”

The Ravens have held teams to 2.5 yards per carry in the 77 running plays with both Williams and Pierce on the field.

Baltimore has given up 3.5 yards per carry on the 96 running plays when either Williams or Pierce are off the field.

The Ravens have allowed 5.8 yards per carry on the 20 plays with Williams and Pierce both on the sideline.

It would be an oversimplification to label the Ravens’ dynamic run-stopping duo as space-eaters.

“They’re two big guys, but they’re two big guys that are really excellent athletes,” coach John Harbaugh said. “They’re in great shape. They’re explosive. They play hard. They use their hands really well. They can get off blocks.”

Williams and Pierce are the Ravens’ first line of defense Sunday, when the Ravens face Chris Higgins Authentic Jersey their biggest challenge of the season. Elliott is averaging 111.7 yards per game, which is 18.7 yards more than anyone else in the NFL.

Much of Elliott’s success comes up the gut of the defense. He has gained 72.6 percent of his yards in between the tackles.

“He’s a really good back. He’s proven that he can do it,” Williams said. “My biggest thing is his power comes from his offensive line. It’s kind of like, cut the head of the snake.”

The Ravens have heard all week about how the Cowboys have the best offensive line in the NFL. Dallas’ front certainly has a pedigree, with three first-round picks (left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin) who come from big-name schools like USC, Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

It’s a stark contrast to the Ravens’ defensive line. Williams is a third-round pick from Division II Missouri Southern State, and Pierce is an undrafted rookie out of Samford.

Tebow will remain in Arizona for parts of the remainder of the offseason, working with Mets hitting coach Kevin Long.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said it is undecided whether Tebow will be invited to big league camp or head directly to minor league camp once spring training arrives. Alderson seemed to hint at the latter, though. Regarding big league camp, the GM said last week, the day after Tebow had a walk-off RBI single for the Scottsdale Scorpions: “A couple of additional walk-off hits, he might merit consideration.”

Even if Tebow is assigned to minor league camp, he still regularly could be borrowed for Grapefruit League games.

“The guy is going through kind of a warp-speed development process,” Alderson said. “Who knows what’s going to happen at the end?”

Whether Tebow will break camp in Scott Crichton Authentic Womens Jersey 2017 with a full-season minor league team such as the Columbia (S.C.) Fireflies is a decision to be made even further down the road, according to Alderson. The alternative is to stay in extended spring training when the top minor leaguers break camp in early April and then begin the season playing with a short-season team such as the Brooklyn Cyclones, whose games begin in June.

Alderson did seem to indicate that playing with a full-season team would be optimal. The GM nonetheless noted that team assignments Shamar Stephen Authentic Womens Jersey for all minor leaguers — not just Tebow — will be made late in spring training, after instructors get several weeks to evaluate farmhands in camp.

Tebow’s AFL stint was interrupted weekly by his college football broadcasting duties with ESPN. He would play Monday through Thursday, then spend the next two days in a Southeastern Conference city. The AFL is dark on Sundays.

Tebow acknowledged that the continuity of playing uninterrupted in spring training probably would aid his development.

“It will definitely be nice to be able to continue the rhythm every day,” he said.

Asked if he missed being the best on the field, which presumably was the case for some of his life as a football player, Tebow said: “One day you want to get there. You have to put in the work, and it’s a process. You want to keep getting better every day. You want to be the best you can be. So that’s the goal.”

So the question now is whether Roberts can turn the necessity of his bullpen use into his very own identity.

“Well I think that obviously with the young players we had and some of the injuries we had, and certain games that were performance driven, changes needed to be made in game, as far as going to the pen,” Roberts said, refuting the suggestion that the heavy bullpen usage was a part of his master plan.

“But I do believe and I am aligned Sammy Watkins Authentic Jersey with our front office in the sense that there are certain spots in each individual game that can really affect an outcome. So to have an advantage hitter versus pitcher makes sense and it is something I know that I believe in.”

A versatile bench allowed Roberts to carry an extra reliever most of the season and the roster alignment was not wasted. In addition to the 3.35 ERA from Seantrel Henderson Authentic Jersey the bullpen, the group also recorded 633 strikeouts, also tops in the majors.

Most amazing of all is that the only reliever with a set role all season was closer Kenley Jansen. Guys such as Joe Blanton (a team-leading 75 appearances), Pedro Baez (73 appearances) and lefty Adam Liberatore (Dodgers record 28-appearance scoreless streak) pulled their weight. Liberatore was finally slowed by injury. Rookie Grant Dayton emerged to take Liberatore’s left-handed innings.

Roberts characterized his extreme use of the bullpen more of a necessity than an identity. Starters were hurt, including staff ace Clayton Kershaw, and finding length from whoever remained proved difficult.

Roberts resembled a conductor each night, working his orchestra from the podium of the pitching mound. Left arm up for rhythm, right arm up for tempo.

It helped Roberts conduct music to the tune of the National League Manager of the Year Award, an honor he received Tuesday. He became the first Dodgers manager to win the honor since Tommy Lasorda (1983, ’88).

Lasorda was also known for his bullpen usage, but in his case it was more the longevity he got from a pitcher each night, not necessarily liberal use. Roberts used his group of relievers like no other manager in baseball history.

His 606 pitching moves this season were an MLB record, getting a big league-leading 590? innings from the group. And Roberts managed it all to a 3.35 ERA from his bullpen, second best in baseball. The relievers helped the Dodgers to ultimately complete 46 comeback victories, second most in the game to the Texas Rangers’ 49.

And the bullpen usage only got more extreme in the postseason, as Roberts leaned heavily on the relievers, taking the club two games from the World Series.

Ross Stripling no-hit bid: April 8 at Giants

Roberts made headlines early in the season, removing rookie Ross Stripling from a game with a no-hitter intact through 7? innings. The Dodgers led 2-0, but the next batter hit a game-tying two-run HR and the Giants won in the 10th. But Stripling was on the heels of Tommy John surgery and had made just one spring training start. Roberts’ caution paid off: Stripling pitched for the Dodgers into the postseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was named the unanimous winner of the National League Rookie of the Year award on Monday, over teammate Kenta Maeda and Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals.

“Jo does a nice job in there defensively,” Hornacek said. “It may depend on the team. Maybe we can go there a little bit more often. But we’re not — just because we were good in the second half doesn’t mean we’re going to change [the starting lineup].”

“Coach made the decision and it worked tonight. It’s hard to win in this league and it’s a team game,” Noah said. “I’m happy we got the W.”

Noah is averaging 4.8 points Lardarius Webb Youth Jersey per game in 24 minutes and teams have sagged off of him on defense, keeping an extra player in the paint. Noah acknowledged after the game that he needs to “figure out ways to be more effective on that end of the floor.”

Phil picks up tab during dinners with Carmelo: In addition to talking about the Knicks, Lakers and taking a shot at LeBron James, Phil Jackson talked about his relationship with Carmelo Anthony in a Q&A with ESPN senior writer Jackie MacMullan. He said that Anthony seeks communication from Jackson and that the two have gone out to dinner together to talk shop.

“We’ve had our moments. We’ve Lawrence Guy Youth Jersey had our quote, un-quote dinner dates. I’m cool with going out with him and having dinner with him and talking to him. I don’t have a problem with that,” he said. “I think I’m pretty good at reading people, but communication for me is key whether with Phil, whether with my wife, with my son, regardless of who it is. I like to talk, I like to communicate with you. I don’t know what you’re thinking. You could try to figure out what I’m thinking, good luck with that. I think it’s much better for everybody when we can communicate and that line of communication is open.”

As for who picks up the tab, Anthony jokingly said, “Oh, for sure, Phil. I’m not paying for no dinners with Phil.”

Seager was also named an All-Star this year. He is the Dodgers’ 17th Rookie of the Year winner and first since Todd Hollandsworth was honored in 1996 to complete a run of five consecutive NL ROY awards for Dodgers (Hideo Nomo 1995, Raul Mondesi 1994, Mike Piazza 1993, Eric Karros 1992). The Dodgers also had a run of four consecutive with Rick Sutcliffe (1979), Steve Howe (1980), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Steve Sax (1982).

Who deserves credit for the Cowboys’ success on offense? Ezekiel Elliott? Dak Prescott? The offensive line? If only it were that simple.
But analytics long ago debunked the idea that you need to run to set up the pass-and besides, even the worst teams in the league rush more than 20 times Kyle Rudolph Authentic Jersey a game, so you especially don’t need to run to set up fake handoffs.

It starts with good health, as a season-low three players were listed on the club’s initial injury report of the week. The high mark for the injury report was 14 players in Week 6. Belichick has spoken at length about the Patriots’ good health, which has surprised some given his general reluctance to discuss injuries.

Meanwhile, quarterback Tom Brady Lestar Jean Authentic Jersey is playing at an otherworldly level since returning from a four-game suspension to open the season, making up for lost time by putting his name in the midseason discussion for Most Valuable Player honors.

Optimism is high in New England, as it’s been popular sports-talk radio fodder to look at the final eight games and pick out potential losses. Sunday night’s home game against the Seahawks has been highlighted by some as one of the team’s toughest remaining games.

How can it be anyone other than Brady at this point? According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Brady is just the third player in NFL history with at least 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in a player’s first four games of a season, joining Peyton Manning (2013, 16 TD/0 INT) and Don Meredith (1966, 14 TD/0 INT).

Some more Brady dominance: Despite missing the first four games, he leads the NFL in completion percentage (73.1), yards per attempt (9.8), passing touchdowns per game (3.0 avg.) and total QBR (91.3).

In pressure situations, he’s also executing at a significantly higher level than the NFL average when it comes to completion percentage. In the red zone, he’s at 83.3 percent (league average 56.8), in the fourth quarter it’s a 79.2 clip (league average 62.5) and on third down it’s 77.1 percent (league average 59.8).

Now, play-action is based on faking out the opposition. So if you use it more frequently, won’t its effectiveness decline? Well, yes. Eventually, defenders will stop biting on false handoffs, and linebackers will keep clogging the middle of the field rather than rushing toward the line of scrimmage. But until the advantage of play-action erodes completely, it makes sense to keep trying. A team hasn’t optimized its offense until the gains from various play types are equal-until there’s no reason to switch from one to another.

After being unable to reach the postseason this past, the Nationals dismissed manager and informed their entire coaching staff that their contracts would not be renewed. Washington hired Dusty Baker on Tuesday to become the franchise’s sixth full-time manager. Now that a skipper is place, the Nationals put together their coaching staff. However, changing the coaching staff can only do so much. The Nationals need to improve their roster — especially Justin Britt Authentic Jersey the bullpen, which faltered when it faced teams like the Mets July and. We are going to investigate all those things after the when we do our postseason analytics on what went wrong, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. Suffice to say, no one is more disappointed than I am about the way the transpired. Stay tuned, it could be interesting. Rotation: With Zimmermann and Fister expected to leave, look for and Tanner Roark to fight for rotation spots. Giolito, the Nationals’, is expected to be big league camp for the first time next year. He could get a to be the rotation. Could the Nationals sign another free agent like they did when they signed Max Scherzer January? It’s possible. Keep mind that Greinke is expected to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers after the World Series. The Nationals had a to acquire Greinke after the 2010, but he accepted a trade to the Brewers instead. Bullpen: It was the weakest link this past and it be overhauled. Expect Storen to be traded; the team has told him three times during his career it doesn’t trust him as a closer. Papelbon could be gone, too, because of his dugout altercation with Bryce Harper. So look for the Nationals to acquire a closer. If the Nats want a player like Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis, they likely have to give up a lot. They do have some jewels the bullpen. Rivero and Treinen were used important situations. Treinen must learn K.J. Wright Authentic Jersey to get left-handed hitters out. Stammen, who missed most of the because of a forearm injury, is expected to be healthy next. The Nationals missed him as a long and setup. Carpenter could be a valuable setup if his shoulder holds up. Catcher: Ramos has caught three no-hitters during his career, but privately, the team was not happy with his overall performance this year. He had his poorest as a hitter and he had problems catching throws from the outfield. Some have even questioned his game-calling. Could the Nationals try to acquire another starting catcher? It’s possible. Wieters is a free agent and his agent, Scott Boras, has a great relationship with the Nationals’ front office. Lobaton is a solid backup and Gio Gonzalez ‘s personal catcher. Lobaton’s pitch-framing skills are elite. First base: Zimmerman be the starter with Clint Robinson as the backup. The question is, can Zimmerman stay healthy? He hasn’t played 100 a since 201He plans to change his workout routine — not lift as weights as he did the past. If he can’t stay healthy, Robinson can fill and provide some power. Second base: When he was healthy, Rendon saw a lot of time at second, but the Nationals feel his future is at third base. That would mean the Nationals would have to do something about Yunel Escobar, who was a solid hitter, but a below-average defender at the position. Who play second is anyone’s guess at this point. Espinosa showed he was no longer easy out and could reclaim the position next year. He’s also still one of the best defensive second basemen the game. That alone would help him reclaim his starting spot at second base Shortstop: is not expected to be back 2016, so the job belongs to Trea Turner, who is the Nationals’ No. 2 prospect. In his short time with the club, he showed he could play the position and is a career.322 hitter the Minors. Third base: After Harper, Escobar was Washington’s best hitter, and he ended up having the best of his career. His defense was another story. He doesn’t have the range that Zimmerman or Rendon had at the position. Hit a slow roller to Escobar, it’s almost a given the runner beat it out. It would not come as a surprise if Escobar is used as trade bait order to get another pitcher. If that happens, Rendon would be back at third base. Outfield: With Span expected to be gone, the Nationals need a leadoff hitter. If they can’t find one, look for Werth to be first the order. He hit.318 with a.388 on-base percentage while hitting the leadoff spot this past. Going into the, the outfield be Harper right field, center and Werth left. However, Werth had his poorest as a member of the Nationals. It didn’t help that he had to deal with shoulder and wrist injuries. is excellent defender, but needs to improve his batting average. For now, seems best to hit near the bottom of the order.

San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon has turned into a major force.

In Sunday’s win over the Titans, Gordon rushed for 196 yards, the most by a Chargers player since LaDainian Tomlinson had 198 against the Raiders in 2007. His 261 yards from scrimmage were the second-most in a game in Chargers history, surpassed only by Tomlinson’s 271 in 2002. Gordon has nine rushing touchdowns in nine games in 2016, after recording none in 2015.

Dolphins rookie running back Kenyan Drake’s 96-yard, game-winning kickoff return against the Jets is part of a growing trend for Miami. Its rookie class, which also consists of offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, returner Jakeem Grant and wide receiver Leonte Carroo, is playing well and making quality contributions early. That bodes well as the Dolphins enter the second half of their season.

The Ravens suddenly went from reeling to jumping to the top of the division. With a win over the Steelers, the Ravens ended a four-game losing streak and took over first pl

The Browns have been playing football in the NFL since 1950. They have never started a season 0-10. But now, they could set a record in Baltimore on Thursday.

The Steelers’ high-octane offense isn’t used to Ryan Carrethers Jersey being called “pretty pathetic,” but that’s exactly how guard David DeCastro felt about the Steelers’ third straight sluggish road loss, which raised questions about the team’s unflinching ability to attack defenses. The biggest question out of the Steelers’ locker room: Can the offense take flight and once again lift a 4-4 team into the playoffs? Le’Veon Bell says yes. “We know what we can do,” Bell said. “We know what we’re able to do. We’ve just got to put it all together.”

The Texans enter the second half of their season at 5-3 despite inconsistent play, especially from quarterback Brock Osweiler. Houston leads the AFC South, but its schedule gets tougher in the second half. The Texans will play four of their next five games on the road, where Ryan Mathews Jersey they are 0-3 this season. Even though those three teams — the Patriots, Vikings and Broncos — are good, the Texans need to play better away from NRG Stadium, and they will get a chance when they travel to Jacksonville on Sunday.

The Colts are heading into their bye on a positive note. Their victory over Green Bay put them at 4-5 and back in the mix in the AFC South. The Colts host all three AFC South teams at home in their final seven games, starting with Houston on Nov. 20.

Johnson was redshirted his first season in Cedar Falls, and for the first two weeks of fall camp, Johnson played receiver. But, one way or the other, Farley wanted Johnson on the field. He saw speed, athleticism and size, and thought Johnson would make an ideal free safety. There was one problem: Johnson knew how to play only Cover 1 and Cover 2. He lasted about 10 days in the secondary.

Injuries on offense prompted the UNI coaches to approach Johnson with another option: He could remain a safety or return to the offensive side of the ball at running back.

“Obviously I chose running back,” Johnson said with a chuckle. “That’s where I fell in love with the sport, was playing running back and having the ball in my hands, scoring and stuff. That’s what was exciting to me.”

Even though he left Northern Iowa as the Panthers’ all-time leading rusher with 4,687 yards — one of 15 school records he set — he was fourth on the school’s all-time receiving list with 141 catches.

Consider this: The Ravens have held Brown to one touchdown in 13 games (including playoffs). Against the other 31 teams, Brown has averaged one touchdown every two games.

Heading into Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was unaware that his defense had limited one of the NFL’s most prolific receivers to a single score.

Stopping Brown from crossing the goal line has been an X-factor for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are 21-11 (.656) when Brown reaches the end zone, and they’re 8-3 (.727) when he scores two touchdowns.

Why have the Ravens been so successful in containing Brown? It starts with cornerback Jimmy Smith.

The only time Brown has scored a touchdown Tyreek Hill Authentic Womens Jersey against Baltimore was two years ago, when Smith didn’t play. In Smith’s seven games against Pittsburgh, Brown has one 100-yard game and no touchdowns.

“Some of the game plan is obviously directed towards him, so we are doing what we are supposed to do if we keep him with minimal yards and catches,” Smith said.

Brown said Smith is “up there” when asked where he ranks on his cornerbacks list.

“You have to pay a lot of respect to a guy like Jimmy for all he does and come out and compete and cover the best man on every guy’s team week to week,” Brown said.